Severe drought conditions in Zimbabwe have caused a number of issues for larger cities, including blocked sewers (thanks to dry supply dams). To help alleviate the stinky situation, the city of Bulawayo has adopted an interesting strategy: synchronized flushing.

Bulawayo City Council has asked its more than 1 million residents to flush their toilets simultaneously at 7:30 p.m. when water supplies are restored. City officials say "synchronized flushing" is needed to clear waste that would have accumulated in sanitary facilities which will have been affected by days of water outages.

The practice isn't new; the first synchronized flush took place in the city two decades ago. However, local residents say they're largely unaware of today's planned event, as "the whole issue wasn't properly communicated to them." Link | Photo